Victims' families at arraignment

GOSHEN — An Ossining man was arraigned Tuesday in Orange County Court on aggravated vehicular homicide and other felony charges stemming from a crash that killed two people in the Town of Woodbury.

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By HEATHER YAKIN

recordonline.com

By HEATHER YAKIN

Posted Jun. 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By HEATHER YAKIN

Posted Jun. 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

GOSHEN — An Ossining man was arraigned Tuesday in Orange County Court on aggravated vehicular homicide and other felony charges stemming from a crash that killed two people in the Town of Woodbury.

Melissa Rupa, 25, of Mineola, and Rafaelito DeJesus, 23, of Valley Stream, were on a motorcycle on the Thruway near Exit 16 when, prosecutors say, they were hit by a car driven by Luis Munoz, 24.

Munoz has been held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 cash bail or $1 million bond since his arrest several hours after the June 2 crash. If convicted of the top count of the indictment, he would face a maximum sentence of 8﻿1/3 to 25 years in prison.

About a dozen of Rupa and DeJesus' relatives and friends, who traveled to court from Valley Stream, watched as Munoz was arraigned before Judge Jeffrey Berry. They sobbed as they heard the details of the case.

Assistant District Attorney Karen Edelman-Reyes said Munoz drank at least seven beers before setting out at about 11:30 p.m. on June 1, meaning to go to New Jersey. He was angry with his girlfriend, who wasn't returning his texts. He headed north on the Thruway, still texting her.

DeJesus and Rupa were heading home on the Thruway from Delaware County, and had stopped in a safety area near Exit 16. At 1:30 a.m., Edelman-Reyes said, Munoz veered from the northbound lanes into the safety area and hit the couple. They died at the scene. He drove away.

Munoz was arrested several hours later. He had encountered an off-duty New Windsor police officer who's also a part-time medical examiner; Sgt. Frank Pierri saw the damaged front end of Munoz's car and recognized the vehicle description. State police took Munoz into custody.

At that time, Edelman-Reyes said, Munoz had a blood alcohol concentration of .07; state police scientists extrapolated that it was .15 at the time of the crash.

Edelman-Reyes said Munoz is an undocumented alien who had been deported to his native Ecuador, but re-entered the U.S. There's a separate federal case against him for illegal re-entry. Edelman-Reyes asked the judge to retain the bail set by the Town of Woodbury Court. Munoz's lawyer, Dennis McCormick of the Orange County Legal Aid Society, said he'll wait to make a bail argument. Berry set bail as prosecutors requested. Munoz returns to court July 12.

Outside the courthouse, the families spoke about the hardworking, conscientious young couple. The two had known each other for years, but had been dating just a couple of months. Rupa was helping her brother Tom raise his two children, said Rupa's grandmother, Joan Arico. DeJesus' brother, Jonathan Lopez, said the families want justice.

"His (Luiz Munoz's) argument led to the death of our family members," said Rupa's mother, Cathy Donlon. "Our daughter got life. His (Lopez's) brother got life. Why is life not on the table for him (Munoz)?" "I miss my baby. No matter how long he gets, it'll never be enough," Donlon said, her voice rising with grief and anger. "He murdered them. He murdered them."